2016 Should She play 16U or 18U?

[tjintx]

Question for the masses.
My DD is a 2016, She currently plays on an 18U gold travel ball team. In talking with coaches and parents locally It seems that the consensus believe the right place for a 2016 to be seen by college coaches is 16U. I know in years past the goal was to get to an 18U team as quickly as possible.
So what is the consensus here at DFP? At what level is the best place to get the most exposure for a 2016/2017?

 

[SoCal_Dad]

No one can give you a definitive answer because there are several factors.

- Regional: Coaches recruit where their target players are playing and that varies by region. I recall some TX dads posted on a similar thread that their first instinct was to say 18U because that is where their DDs committed, but then realized it was 16U where the schools first showed interest.

- Target schools: There is no set time for when schools recruit their players. The ones that recruit early spend more time looking at the younger age groups. If your target schools recruit later, they're probably spending most of their time at 18U.

- Teams: Some 18U teams primarily have players that committed prior to joining them. You're better off on a team that gets girls noticed and committed.

My general advice is to not go to 18U until colleges have shown strong interest. YMMV

 

[wichita]

No one can give you a definitive answer because there are several factors.

- Regional: Coaches recruit where their target players are playing and that varies by region. I recall some TX dads posted on a similar thread that their first instinct was to say 18U because that is where their DDs committed, but then realized it was 16U where the schools first showed interest.

- Target schools: There is no set time for when schools recruit their players. The ones that recruit early spend more time looking at the younger age groups. If your target schools recruit later, they're probably spending most of their time at 18U.

- Teams: Some 18U teams primarily have players that committed prior to joining them. You're better off on a team that gets girls noticed and committed.

My general advice is to not go to 18U until colleges have shown strong interest. YMMV

Agree with SCD but there are exceptions ....as in my older DD case we didn't have a 16u team in our area that could compete well enough to get to the fields with college coaches that would go watch games so we opted to go with 18 gold team and it has worked out pretty well for us.

P.S. Also from what I've seen the last 2 years with my DD playing gold ball is there are plenty of colleges that watch the younger kids on gold teams if it were me and my kid I would put her on a team where shes middle of the pack talent wise and let her grow as a player because if she at the top of her 16 team it's hard for kids to get better when there isn't anyone better than them on there team. JMHO

 

[Cannonball]

Good advice already here. As mentioned, no one can tell you the right answer and, as mentioned, regions are so different. My dd played up from 1st year 14U all the time and a lot at 12U. When 14U, she played 16U and 18U. Her and one other young lady were the youngest. So, the difference then for the team was who (College Coaches and other teams) was going to be where. To be honest, when she was 18U and playing 18U, we didn't see as many college coaches as before. However, again, that had to do a lot with scheduling. Our team had already all committed.

 

[fastpitch]

IMO there are too many factors missing here to really say one is definitely better than the other.

Generally speaking, if the 16u team is actually playing 16u tournaments instead of 18u showcases (pgf or asa nationals as the exception) and not on the main fields at showcases then I'd say that it isn't worth playing 16u for that team if exposure is your goal. However, if its a 16u team that competes nationally and attends the top showcases then I'd say that team would probably be ok if you want exposure.

It does make sense that coaches would like to watch some top 16u teams because most of the players are probably "recruitable". What I think is probably more important than just being seen by lots of coaches; is the contact made to the coaches of the schools she is interested in prior to seeing her play. In my admittedly limited experience it appears coaches rarely "discover" someone randomly. They are typically at the field to watch someone specific.

Good luck!

 

[JAD]

I am not an expert on the subject, but if my DD was a D1 2016 prospect, I would have her playing on a good 16U TB team that can get her into showcases.

 

[slingnit]

You CAN get looks in 16u or 18u, really doesn't which age for the most part. The biggest key is playing a team that gets you in the tournament's that allows the most exposure. Second you, your dd and her coaches have to make the effort in contacting the coaches of the schools that she wants to attend and the ones she is most likely to get into. Like everyone else is saying, there is no right answer.

 

[coach james]

I am not an expert on the subject, but if my DD was a D1 2016 prospect, I would have her playing on a good 16U TB team that can get her into showcases.

My thoughts exactly...let her shine amongst her own age group. Coaches at 18U showcases are most likely in need right now. At a 16U showcase, they are looking for prospects for the future to get committed before all the good ones get scooped up.

 

[Greenmonsters]

You need to figure out what level and what schools she is interested in playing for and then make sure you are play for a team that puts her in the best position to be seen by those coaches/schools. Just like regular college admissions for a non-athlete, ID your dream, target, and safety schools/SB programs and move forward with a plan for reaching out to those schools.

A realistic assessment of abilities is so important to avoid hearbreak. If she's not in the mix w/ the best 150-200 players in the country for her grad year, then a top 25 D1 simply isn't in the picture (Do the math - 25 teams w/ 6-8 freshman to be recruits/year = 150-200).

 

[slingnit]

You need to figure out what level and what schools she is interested in playing for and then make sure you are play for a team that puts her in the best position to be seen by those coaches/schools. Just like regular college admissions for a non-athlete, ID your dream, target, and safety schools/SB programs and move forward with a plan for reaching out to those schools.

A realistic assessment of abilities is so important to avoid hearbreak. If she's not in the mix w/ the best 150-200 players in the country for her grad year, then a top 25 D1 simply isn't in the picture (Do the math - 25 teams w/ 6-8 freshman to be recruits/year = 150-200).

I agree with the most of what you say but the top 150-200 I disagree with. There are a ton of kids that are not in the mix but only because they have not had the exposure. As a parent you should be honest with your kid if she is simply not talented enough to play at that level. But some are not being mentioned with the top players because they have not been seen by the coaches necessary. And you even see some kids that have no real name for themselves before college but blow up once they are there because coaches see something they like or fits their style of play. Granted this is much more common for pitchers than other positions but I guess what I'm saying is don't count out certain because she hasn't been showcased yet.